


Benevolence

by averts



Category: Red Dead Redemption
Genre: Arthur Morgan Is A Good Man, Domestic, Other, he loves animals so much and i love him
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-08
Updated: 2019-01-09
Packaged: 2019-10-06 15:20:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17347610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/averts/pseuds/averts
Summary: My first fic of 2019! This will be a three part series following Arthur's love of animals and the acts of good that can come with it.





	1. Safeguard

**Author's Note:**

> The rain in Valentine is always terrible, but it can be particularly devastating to the most vulnerable in town.

     Hearing anything over the torrential pounding of the rain on the roof outside the saloon was near impossible, the rain running in practical rivers down the main street of Valentine, sliding mud and pebbles down the slight hill. The road seemed to be constantly wet to begin with, so the main stretch flooding wasn't particularly surprising, although it was extremely unpleasant. Arthur was not looking forward to riding home in this, and he was wasting as much time as he could get away with sitting on the bar's porch, picking idly at the brim of his hat.  
Maybe- just maybe- he was imagining it, but he was pretty damn sure he kept hearing something. A small noise that he couldn't put a thumb on until he finally got a good listen in, groaning under his breath at what he knew he was potentially about to have to do. Beneath the porch he could hear mewling, a familiar kind from what he now knew were kittens hidden somewhere under the shelter of the porch. "Damn..." With an overly dramatic sigh, he braced himself on his knees while getting up, mashing his hat firm onto his head and stepping out underneath the pelting rain. He did his best to look under the wooden slats without having to get down into the mud, but it was dark enough he couldn't see more then a foot ahead.  
With a roll of his eyes and a shake of his head, Arthur lowered himself onto his belly in the mud, glancing back at the horse who gave him a questioning nicker. "Don't look at me like that, Huck."  
     The paint stallion only pinned his ears back afterwards, returning to weathering the storm with a new friend he had cuddled up with at the hitching post. The slimy dirt beneath him smelled foul, mostly of alcohol spilled through the porch among other things he wanted no part of. Crawling up under the porch brought him closer to the noises, small mews and squeals from somewhere to the right. Hopefully, he would not crush them trying to find them, or run into an angry mom.  
"Hey babies," was his gentle greeting upon finally finding the squirming pile of kits, trying to count them without touching just yet. "How many of ya are there?"  
     They couldn't answer, and he wasn't able to see them well enough, so Arthur finally made the decision to take the litter for good. Mom wasn't around, and they'd freeze to death in the mud before morning came. Maybe he could bring them back in the morning and she'd be around, and if not, farmers were always looking for mousers. Carefully he reached to pluck up one of the kittens, surprised at how weighty it was for being so tiny, and frowning softly at the loud and unhappy squeal from the baby. "Hey bud, its okay. Lets get you somewhere warm."  
     There were six once he counted finally, and then realized he had no way to both carry them all and shimmy backwards back out from the porch. Arthur cursed quietly, starting to make his way back out before his hat brushed up against the floorboards, and an idea came to mind. He nearly had to mash his face into the mud to get his hat off without smashing the top of it flat, before flipping it over and reaching for the same kitten again. There was less noise this time as he gathered them into the hat, just more mewling and some scratches of tiny claws on the leather, but when Arthur got to the last kitten and set it inside he realized there was no more room for them to lay.  
"You be nice, mister." He said quietly to the last one before setting them in anyway, looking back out towards the road before scooting backwards back into the rain. Arthur did his best to shield them from the rain hurrying over to the general store's cover where there were actual chairs to spend the rest of the storm in. Plopping into a chair he huffed quietly, reaching into the hat to pick up the kitten that was crawling all over it's bigger siblings. He hadn't noticed, but this was the runt, and he was glad he'd get to spend one on one time with it. But where, he wasn't sure yet.  
     After a while of just letting the little runt sleep in his hand, he reached into his shirt pocket for a partially crushed pack of cigarettes, shaking now drying dirt off of his hand. There was only one left, and he tossed the box to his feet to pick up later after lighting it, letting it hang off his lips and pondering what to do next. The kittens were all relatively dry, and he didn't exactly have anything on him that was clean enough and dry itself to warm them up with. Their body warmth inside the hat would be enough to keep them alive, even if they weren't entirely comfortable...but that left the runt cuddled into his hands.  
Arthur leaned back into the chair with a sigh, absently petting the kitten before reaching to retrieve the pack of cigarettes once again, scoffing at himself when he realized his pocket was empty. He looked from said empty pocket back to the runt a few times before deciding it wouldn't hurt to stow the baby away there, very carefully tucking it into the pocket and watching it snuggle into the warmth with a nearly inaudible purr. "There ya go, fella. That better?"  
     He couldn't answer, and that was okay, Arthur was content to wait in the quiet until it was safe enough to go back to camp with them.


	2. Leisure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Huck wants to play, and Arthur wants to just catch a midmorning nap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huckleberry is the 'canon' horse you start with! My sweet boy.

    As far as chores went around camp, there usually wasn't anything that demanded his absolute immediate attention each morning, and he was glad for it. After being allowed to wake up on his own just as the sun was also rising, he quickly dressed and with the help of a cup of coffee, warmed up against the chill of dawn. The first thing on his mental list was gathering water for the horses and the chicken flock, setting a pail down near the coop and refilling the barrels out near the camp's makeshift grazing areas. Next was feed for the animals as well, bringing over hay after checking it for mold, spreading it slightly so everyone had a fair chance of eating their fill. Grain and cracked corn was thrown out for the chickens, who clucked happily and scratched around for their breakfast. Arthur whistled to himself as he pulled eggs as well, holding as many as he could in one hand before settling them as gently as possible in the empty grain basket.  
After dropping off the meager bounty of eggs at Pearson's wagon, he wandered for a bit, giving chipper good mornings here and there before deciding his share of the work was pretty much done. Arthur made his way back to the horses, finding a place to sit up against the trunk of a tree and watching them graze or socialize for a while. The sounds of camp coming alive lulled him into a deep sense of contentment, simply watching and listening before the gentle whispers of sleep pulled at him. Removing his hat, he moved to slump against the tree trunk, placing it back down over his face to block out the light and give him a small space of privacy. In the dark he heard the horses step around, pulling up grass to eat and giving sighs or whickers here and there to each other, although none seemed to mind him invading their space.  
     Sleep began to take him once again as he listened and contemplated, lax and warmed by the sun chasing away the chill of the morning. He rested easy while the day started in earnest, responsibilities tended to far earlier than anyone else at camp even bothered to wake up, and just before he was about to drift off himself there was a huffing right into his ear. Warm breath blew his hair just a bit as someone sniffed at him, and at first Arthur began to grumble before the velvet soft of a horse's nose nudged at his own cheek. "What're you doin', Huck?" He asked, peeking up out of his hat to see Huckleberry there, nostrils flaring as he sniffed and then began to lip at his rider's hair. "Hey! That ain't your straw."  
     The stallion gave a quiet, odd noise, stamping once before he returned to bothering his human friend. Arthur patted his nose gently as he explored around, no doubt looking for treats stowed away in either his coat or shirt pockets, but there were none to be found this morning. Despite that he persisted in bothering the human, nipping at the buttons on his coat and blowing air over him in snorts and sighs until Arthur shooed him away with his worn old gambler's hat. "Go on boy, I'm tryin ta-"  
Before he could finish his sentence the hat was grabbed out of the loose hold he had on the rim, and Huck bounced slightly in a mock rear while Arthur scrambled to his feet to reach for it. "Hey! You get back here!" Indignant, he chased after the walker horse, laughing slightly at how much his head bobbed around in his running walk. The hat was tossed around a bit as Huck danced around him, dodging grabbing hands and trotting away to the other group of horses after a moment. Arthur cursed under his breath before running after him, laughing to himself before doing so out loud as well, Huck hiding behind the largest horse in the group but peeking out at him from behind Brown Jack.  
     "You coward," Arthur laughed quietly, waving his hands at the smaller stallion. "Gimme my hat back, you little thief!"  
Huck just looked at him with his ears pricked forwards, before laying them back and turning tail to him, ignoring his pleas to return the beloved article of clothing. Arthur gave a huff in return, still smiling as he turned back to sit back up against his spot, arms crossed and head back again without the hat to cover him. The sun warmed his face pleasantly, although the comfortable dark was replaced with the red of sunlight coming through his eyelids. He slept finally after a little while longer, warm and finally completely relaxed once again, if at risk of a sunburn if he stayed too long.  
     That wasn't a worry for much longer before Huck came back, standing quietly over his rider before nodding with the hat several times trying to get his attention. When Arthur didn't stir, he simply dropped the hat into his lap, slobber covered with new flat teeth marks pressed into the back of the rim. He didn't jerk awake as he usually did when he was bothered, rubbing one eye and blearily looking around before his hand came to touch the hat again, pulling away with a grimace at the slime coating parts of it. "Gee, thanks. You couldn'ta bothered cleanin' it up a bit before you brought it back?" Huck only huffed at him yet again, relaxing and cocking one leg as he did so, relaxed and content to stay around for a while longer after his play was over.


End file.
